It’s our time, Tallahassee

I love Tallahassee. Chances are good that many of you reading this also love Tallahassee. I’d even go so far as to say that our neighbors who berate our community on social media comment threads love Tallahassee, too. If we can start with that basic understanding, then it becomes much easier to address the difficult community challenges that face us. 

Hopefully by now, we all realize that we have a violent crime problem. Say what you will about how we got here, but the grim statistics paint an undeniable picture: we must fix this now. The good news is, for all the finger-pointing and name-calling that happens online between our neighbors, we have shown that when the chips are down, we stand together.

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Idalia threatened our home like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The fear and uncertainty drove us to action. As I filled sandbags alongside folks I had never met, a powerful force took over the sand pile – mutuality. Instead of looking down on Tallahasseeans who forgot their shovel or calling folks out for a different bag-tying technique, a group of strangers tackled the issue together. We filled bags for one another. We carried those heavy sand-filled resources to cars and loaded them up. We offered encouragement in a time of anxiety. Standing under darkening skies, drenched by rain, or sweat, or both, we put aside the pettiness and got to work.

Now, I say that not to be pollyannish, because we’ve got a heck of a challenge ahead of us. I say it to prove to all of us that it CAN be done – and the time is now.

For the last several months, the newly formed Leon County Council on the Status of Men and Boys has been organizing and working with community partners to use a research and data-based approach to bring violent crime to heel. Under the tremendous vision of Sheriff Walt McNeil, and the leadership of Executive Director Royle King, we have hit the ground running and are ready for our community members to join us in this fight.

As the inaugural chairman of this body, I am calling on everyone in Tallahassee and Leon County to get involved with us. We have a robust slate of committees that will be working to drive real, positive outcomes in specific areas, and we now need you to help us fill them. If a member of the Council on the Status of Men and Boys reaches out to you or posts an all-call on Facebook – or if you know that you can be of help even before you’re asked, I implore you to help. 

The reality is simple, in Tallahassee and Leon County, violent crime is the most important issue that we face – and it hurts us all. We knew that our best chance to get through Idalia, was to do it together. Now we face another great challenge that we must tackle together.

Tallahassee, this is Our Time. 

Jamie Van Pelt is CEO of The Radley Firm and Chairman of the Council on the Status of Men and Boys. He can be reached at jamie@theradleyfirm.com.